10 Power 5 head coaches most on the hot seat in 2016
By John Buhler
Everything is bigger in Texas, especially football. The Texas Longhorns are the biggest and most profitable school in the Power 5. They have their own television network, the backing of hundreds of boosters being a true blue blood, and reside in one of the top five most football talent-rich states in the country.
Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong has been on the hot seat almost since the day he arrived in Austin in 2014. That’s what he signed up for in leaving Louisville for the Texas job. Replacing Mack Brown is nearly impossible, but Strong has to do more than win the Red River Rivalry over the Oklahoma Sooners to give himself an opportunity at a fourth year leading the Longhorns.
Strong comes from a fantastic coaching tree, as he was the defensive coordinator for Urban Meyer at the University of Florida before taking over at Louisville in 2010. While Strong had great success at mid-major Louisville, he hasn’t been able to recapture that sort of magic in the Big 12.
Texas has gone 11-14 (9-9) in the first two years of the Strong era in Austin. Under Brown, anything less than a 10 win season in Austin was considered a massive disappointment for the Big 12 powerhouse Longhorns. Strong has yet to have a winning season at Texas despite having the resources most football coaches would die to have.
Having Baylor in the midst of a scandal helps Texas, but the Longhorns need to challenge TCU, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State among others for Big 12 supremacy in 2016 for Strong to get a 2017 at Texas. Another near .500 season is simply intolerable for a blue blood program like Texas.
Next: 1. Darrell Hazell, Purdue Boilermakers